1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoe soles and, more particularly, to a sole which is especially designed for use as the outer sole of a basketball shoe.
2. Description of Related Art
The game of basketball, being primarily a running game, subjects its players to a rather high degree of wear and tear, especially to their legs, knees, ankles and feet.
For example, an average guard in a professional basketball league could very easily run between 4-7 miles per game. Even though the running is not continuous and, in fact, is interrupted by many stops and turns, the sheer amount of shock introduced into the lower limbs of a basketball player is extremely large. Unfortunately, presently known basketball shoes have been designed, by and large, with very little attention being paid to shock absorption or dissipation qualities. A basketball shoe which could reduce the amount of shock being fed back up through the foot, ankle, leg, knee and even back of a player is long overdue.
Many basketball players, in addition to suffering from stress-type fractures as a result of poor shock-absorbing qualities of prior basketball shoes, also suffer from injuries relating to such shoes' instability problems. Clearly, the wider the base of the shoe that contacts the floor, the more stable the particular shoe would be. However, present and previously known basketball shoe are manufactured with a slight side taper which results in a construction that is the antithesis of stability.
Another problem with presently known designs is the sharp definition of the outer edge at the junction between the bottom of the sole and side of the sole. The sharp edge clearly defines a fulcrum which becomes unstable as soon as the center of gravity of the wearer passes over same. It is clear that a basketball shoe which could increase stability by providing a larger base, and which could eliminate the sharp fulcrum (which results in ankle twists and similar injuries) would be highly desirable.
Although my original, basic design of a cantilevered or kinetic running shoe, as set forth in my copending application, Ser. No. 185,957 filed Sep. 10, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,058, is today well-known, no one has yet applied any of the shock-dissipation features of my design to basketball shoes. Typical basketball shoe designs of which I am aware are exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,962,526; 1,988, 784; and 2,071,431.
My original kinetic lever or cantilevered outer sole design, set forth in my prior application listed above, features means for cushioning the foot and leg of a wearer against impact loads which comprises a plurality of resilient tread members disposed about the peripheral portions of the lower surface of the outer sole, so as to support the central portion of the lower surface in a cantilever fashion. The tread members are inclined downwardly and outwardly from the peripheral portion of the lower surface so as to form a longitudinally and laterally oriented concavity for the outer sole. Each of the tread members includes shock absorbing means for permitting same to be resiliently urged laterally outwardly with respect to the central portion of the lower surface of the outer sole upon impact with the ground.